Posted by Junelli 5:09 PM
Sorry it's taken me so long to get out my Vegas report. I just started at my new law firm on Monday, and things have been very busy.

After`4.5 years, I left Thompson & Knight 2 weeks ago to join a very small commercial litigation boutique named Faubus & Taft. The firm has 4 attorneys, which is a stark contrast to TK, which had over 450 lawyers in 12 offices in 7 countries. The change is a welcome one, and I'm looking forward to building my own book of business.

After I left TK, but before I started at my new gig, Dabney and I took a little sojourn to Vegas. We flew out on Saturday and stayed until Tuesday.

**Aside** Flying on "off" days is the best way to do Vegas. The flights and hotel rooms are much cheaper and always available. e.g. I booked our trip exactly 7 days beforehand, and the SWA non-stop ticket was only $150. The hotel room at the MGM Grand was $75/night. You can't beat that with a stick.

I only got to play poker 3 times because I was hanging out with my wife most of the time. We saw some shows and dumped off plenty of money playing blackjack, craps and roulette.

On Saturday we arrived at 4pm. As usual, I immediately took a nose dive in the gambling department (I've never won on the first day). Here's what my log from Saturday looked like:

MGM Blackjack (-$200)
MGM Roulette (-$100)
Bellagio Blackjack (-$200)
Bellagio Craps (-$124)
Bellagio Slots +$27
Monte Carlo BJ +$125
MGM $2-$5 NL (-$1,000)

The MGM poker was salty to say the least. I found the game to be relatively soft, but there were several good/tricky players. The room was packed to the gills and every table was full. They had 3 NL tables running $2-$5, and several more running $1-$2 NL. The rest were running low limit ring games. The $2-$5 had a $500 max buy-in.

I played about 6 hours and lost almost every hand I played. I started out very tight and folded mostly for the first 2 hours. However, I just never could get anything going. I had big hands come up against bigger hands, and I took 1 or 2 small beats.

After getting busted the first time I rebought because there was a guy at the other end who was quite possibly the worst player I've ever encountered. He saw every flop for 5 hours, and absolutely would not lay a hand down. He never trapped, and was very transparent when he had a hand (calling station when weak, and aggressive when strong). He was stuck at least $5,000 during the time I was there, and just kept buying back in.

Unfortunately, I never was able to tangle with him.

Late that night I was getting very very frustrated. With only $125 left, I moved in preflop with 77. I really was hoping to get called for 2 reasons: chance to double up, or a good night blow that would allow me to go to bed.

The goodnight blow came when I was called by JJ and KK. Oooops.

Sunday

Sunday was much better for me. I started by playing in the $40 daily tournament at the Rio, but was eliminated 37th out of 95. During the tournament, a dealer told us that the Rio has the "softest NL game in town." That was enough for me.

Blake McWherter and I bought into the NL game at about 2pm while our wives went to the Palms to look for celebrities. Four hours later I cashed out with a profit of $1,000.

The game was incredibly easy. I made most of my money when I held Q7 in the BB and was able to limp into a multiway pot. The flop was Q7K with 2 clubs. I checked and the next player led out for $20. 3 players called before it got back to me. I raised it to $85 straight figuring I'd narrow the field, but hoping to keep one player in. 2 players called.

The turn was a blank and I led out for $250 in hopes of ending the hand right there. Shockingly, both players called, but the one next to me was all-in for slightly less.

Holy shit, please put a blank on the river. Please please please. I knew they were drawing, and just hoped the poker gods wouldn't spank me.

The river was a 2 of spades. A complete blank. I immediately moved all-in for over $500 more. The last player took his time, but ultimately folded.

The all-in player turned over a pair and a flush draw. The other guy told me he was open-ended. Whew! I dodged a lot of outs and took down a monster pot.

I made some other big hands and cashed out at 7pm with a nice profit (almost enough to wipe out the previous days losses).

Unfortunately, I was only able to play poker 1 more time, and I broke even. However, I continued to play blackjack, roulette, pai gow, and craps and continued to lose money.

It was my first time to play Pai Gow, and I really liked it.

This trip we gambled at:
MGM, Bellagio, Wynn, Golden Nuggett, Monte Carlo, Mandalay Bay, Rio. That's a pretty good circuit for a few days vacation.

For non-poker gambling, the Golden Nugget is my favorite. It's old school Vegas and the customer service is light years better than the monstrosities on the strip. The Wynn is the nicest casino I've ever seen (although it is remarkably similar to the Bellagio).

The Luxor (where I cashed Dr. Fro's Rose Bowl ticket) is just plain nasty. Of all the sportbooks in Vegas, why place your bet at the Luxor?? :)

Restaurants:
Fix at Bellagio is one of the best restaurants I've ever eaten at (Vegas or otherwise). It is clearly my favorite in Vegas.
Olives at Bellagio is very very good.
If your in the mood for Chinese, go to "Red 8" at the Wynn.
Stay far far away from the buffett at the MGM. It tasted like something on Fear Factor.

I also stopped by Caesar's to check out their new poker room. It is huge, with over 30 tables. Plasma TVs on every wall. It is one of the nicest rooms I've seen.

FInally, I walked into the Bellagio poker room and saw Doyle playing in the high limit section against 2 other players. I tried to buy-in for $750, but it wasn't quite enough. Chickens...

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